Trump climate report can strengthen lawsuits against govt.

Carlson consults pro bono on climate cases for Sher Edling LLP, a California law firm. Sher Edling is involved in at least nine other similar lawsuits against fossil fuel companies.

Still, there is the matter of tying emissions from specific companies to specific damages.

“One looming question in these cases is whether the harms for which the plaintiff[s] … are seeking compensation, including damages from sea level rise, droughts, wildfires and so forth, are actually caused by the oil company emissions,” Carlson writes.